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Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch to be driven by viewer’s demand

This was disclosed by Showtime’s Sports head Stephen Espinoza who remains open to a possible rematch betwen the two elite fighters.

Mayweather and Pacquiao fought on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, which was won by Mayweather via a unanimous decision.

Despite the lackluster performance by both fighters, the fight broke all pay-per-view (PPV) records in the history of boxing with the fight garnering more than four million PPV buys valued at over $400 million, The final and official figures have not been released but sources say it could reach $500 million.

Taking 60 percent of the purse, Mayweather could get over $200 million while Pacquiao, who gets 40 percent could get more than $150 million.

In the interview by R. Thomas Umstead, Espinoza said he was surprised by the unnexpected surge in PPV buys leading up to the fight.

“It far exceeded our expectations, even what we were expecting late in the week. We were monitoring pre-buys all week but there was nothing in the ballpark to compare it to … they were so high we couldn’t use it to extrapolate any numbers. We were largely flying blind,” Espinoza told R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News.

When asked about the posibility of a rematch, Espinoza said the network is open to it but it will have to be driven by demand from viewers.

“I think we have to remain open to it. There’s a lot of chatter on both sides about the possibility – once Manny successfully recovers from [shoulder] surgery, if there a demand and if Floyd is still active or would consider coming back to being active then it would be a topic of conversation. But it will be driven by demand,” he said.

Still, Mayweather’s earlier pronouncement that he will retire right after his scheduled Sept. 12 bout could derail the proposed rematch which has already gathered support from fans who wish to put closure on the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight saga.

Mayweather is completing his $200 million six-fight contract under CBS/Showtime which ends when he returns to the ring this year.

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